Lessons learned with the help of horses:

January 30, 2019Leave a comment

Maybe every young girl doesn’t need a pony for Christmas. There are a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t have a horse, money and time being two of the biggest, but I want to talk about some amazing things that my favorite hobby has gifted me, and why I’m kind of glad I got a horse for Christmas all those years ago:

How to manage money: The old joke is that you should buy your children horses because they’ll never have money for drugs, it’s true, but all jokes aside the horse taught me financial literacy and responsibility from a young age. They’re expensive pets, especially if something goes wrong or if you’re showing them. I’ve always been a bigger money saver than a lot of my friends, and that really started when I was 15. My parents told me that I was responsible for D’Artagnan’s vet bills. Which would have been fine if he didn’t get seriously hurt, but of course he did, and I emptied my savings account. My parents stepped in then, but it taught me that that savings account needed more in it in case of emergencies, and not just the equine kind.
How to be patient: Bad habits take a long time to work out, riding ones are no different. Learning to deconstruct your riding, find the bad part, then put everything back together again without it is no easy task. It takes a long time and a lot of work. It gives you patience. So does dealing with an animal that is just as stubborn as you are. Horses get set in their ways too, and getting their bad habits fixed takes time and energy as well. There is a lot of slow work that needs to get done before you can move on to the exciting parts. Any trainer will tell you just how important slow work is.
How to handle competition: It’s funny, but I became less competitive when I was racing as a child. It became more about competing with myself, my past times, my past rankings, and less about competing with my peers. This might not be true for everyone, some people are just competitive to their core, but what is true is that horseback is a game of give and take. If you want to place better, you have to give a lot of time and energy, and you know that all the other rides are giving it too. It gives you perspective on how to gauge your success and what to keep in mind when you’re going for the gold.

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Ya’ll’d’ve Done it Different: How I Define the South

April 1, 2017April 1, 20174 Comments

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I saw a post recently on Tumblr that stated only in the south would a monstrosity like ya’ll’d’ve be both used normally and considered grammatically ‘correct’. Another one I really like? All ya’ll, because ya’ll isn’t plural enough. This is a side note, which might not be the best way to start a post, but I enjoyed the humor.

I’ve been meaning to write a post on how I define the south, since it is after all part of my URL. Anna Down South was not chosen just because I love the south, but because the south is a big part of my identity. This blog was never meant to be a travel blog where I post all the southern hot spots or a place where I only talked about southern topics, it was supposed to be a lifestyle blog, and I just happened to feel like my lifestyle was southern enough for the name.

So how does one define the south?

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Equine Study: Blurs and Spots

December 17, 2015December 17, 2015Leave a comment

I’m sorry the blog content has been lacking a bit this past week or so, exam week crushed me this year and I’m just starting to bounce back in time for Christmas. So, it will pick up a little bit, I promise. I’ve got some bigger stuff in the works. Until then I leave you with my favorite photo subject along with these past posts to keep you inspired.

A Men’s Gift Guide from last year if you need some last minute ideas
This blogging book review from Oh Joy! (Hint: I loved it!)
Looking for a quick gift or just a cute craft? Check out this cut out.

Rider Dairies: The Truth Behind my Passion

April 30, 2015June 20, 2015Leave a comment

There’s something about horses that I can’t describe to people who’ve had no interaction with these animals. You love them like you would a dog- I guess. Though it seems like much more, because they aren’t just your pet or your family. They’re your hobby, your sport, your pet, and then your family. It’s on a whole different level.

People always laugh about the crazy horse girl they knew in school, and I can tell you that I’m a crazy horse girl, but nothing like the one you knew in school. I don’t have posters of horses in my dorm. I don’t collect horse statues or horseshoe decor. I don’t even really own many items with horses printed on them, I have a shirt or two, perhaps.

But I am in love with this animal, with the art of riding. I’d rather be at the farm then the college party and I’d rather spend my money on horse medication then on new dresses. I’m in love, not obsessed, but that love is so much more powerful than obsession. These animals teach dedication, grace, hard work, patience, an active lifestyle, responsibility, propriety, and so much more. So yes, I’m a crazy horse girl- and yeah, I think you should be too.

The Southern Coast:

February 2, 2015February 2, 2015Leave a comment

These photos are a little older, but I love them just the same. There is something magical about the beach in winter that I really wasn’t expecting to find. I thought what’s the point if you can’t swim and walk barefoot in the sand? I was wrong though, it was amazing.

Why I identify so strongly with the south.

December 7, 2014May 16, 20193 Comments

Recently a college friend (who isn’t from around here) asked me why I identify as a southern girl through and through. She made sure to state that she wasn’t asking about my gun shooting, God fearing ways, but rather the location, the people, and the culture. I went ahead and ignored that the gun shooting, God fearing could be part of the culture & instead I started with the first element she asked about.

The location.

I’m not going to pretend that we don’t have cities, but we also have: Fields of green, wild flowers, back roads, red dirt trials. I can reach either, and if I drive across my state, it’s the latter I see more of. I love that. It’s quite beautiful to look at.

Not to mention all the things that tend to be in them.

& The heat!

It causes some beautiful things and amazing summer days.

The cold actually hurts my soul.

Plus our flowers bloom so early compared to up north.

Oh, and my favorite, the older buildings in the “traditional” southern style. Those are always Swoon worthy. This one was in New Orleans. But I swear my main goal in life is to live in a white house with a front porch.

I’ll skip onto the people.

People in the south, it’s a tricky subject to handle because it deals into stereotypes and we’re working against them, and we should be, by all means. But some of them I found true.

Southern hospitality anyone? I went to New York City when I turned 18, and yes, there were plenty of nice people there (I’d like to confirm that one of my best friends is from NY) but I found that it wasn’t so normal to strike up a conversation with everyone and anyone. It wasn’t so normal to chat with people in an elevator. & it was clear that in a city that big no one was on a friendly bases with their neighbors. (which was a really odd thing to me, because I know all of mine so well) & if we go outside of the US: When I was in Switzerland visiting my cousin who lived there at the time, she told me I needed to stop waving at people who drove past while we were walking the dog. What?

“It’s rude” she stated, “And super weird because you don’t know them.” Waving? Rude?

Plus Good Ole Boys. The world has never seen anything more beautiful than a good ole boy. I’d swear by that, dear sir.

Now onto the culture.

I’m trying to find a way to cover this in more than: butter, yes ma’am, hard working, home grown, craft centered, sweet tea, sport loving, darling/sweetie/honey, cotillion, debutantes, mason jars… Actually we could just listen to country music. That would answer her question completely, wouldn’t it? But for now here’s a quick glimpse:

I said I’d avoid the God and Guns, but I lied. Here’s my granddad hovering and instructing my shooting.